Scoliosis – a common disease in children

Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Ngoc Son, Head of Spine Surgery Department, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, on May 19, said that the hospital had just received two special cases. The first case was a girl from Thai Nguyen who discovered scoliosis at the age of 8 but did not receive timely treatment. After 2 years, I have 68-degree scoliosis, my posture is not straight, my left shoulder is lower than my right shoulder, my back is rough when I bend over.

The family said that the baby had had heart surgery, the incision in the back was painful, so he had to sit in many positions to avoid touching the wound. Over time, the spine is curved, deviating from its original position. In 2020, the baby has scoliosis about 40 degrees, the doctor of the provincial hospital appoints rehabilitation exercises with a brace. However, the practice was interrupted for two years, so it did not improve the scoliosis. On May 19, the results of the re-examination showed that the baby had 68-degree scoliosis and had to be hospitalized for surgery.

The second case is a 15-year-old female student in Lang Son, on May 19 for regular check-ups, still wearing a rehabilitation brace. This child used to have more than 60 degrees of scoliosis, the family did not know that he was sitting in the wrong posture, his shoulders were not balanced, one high and the other low. After a year of school, the condition of scoliosis worsened, “beyond the family’s imagination”. I exercise weekly, but scoliosis has not improved.

In July 2021, I had spine surgery by doctors of Viet Duc Hospital. Up to now, the female student has been able to stand upright, taller, with both shoulders balanced, but still needs to be monitored and rehabilitated.

Doctor Son said both of these babies had severe scoliosis. In particular, the 10-year-old child could have been treated conservatively or surgically intervened earlier, but the family did not closely monitor the child’s condition, so they took him to the doctor late. Therefore, this time, the baby had to be hospitalized for early surgery to avoid prolonged untreated scoliosis, making scoliosis worse and difficult to intervene.

For a 15-year-old female student, she still needs to continue to monitor and practice rehabilitation until the age of 18. These exercises are aimed at restoring the function of the muscles around the spine, helping to balance the body and upright spine. You also need to avoid jobs where you have to bend for a long time, run long, jump high, carry heavy loads that affect the spine.

Curvature, scoliosis is the most severe disease in the spinal column, the incidence rate is 0.5-1% of the population. The disease is common in people under 18 years old, in which the group of 4-10 years old is most affected. 80-85% of cases have scoliosis of unknown cause, some have congenital disease, or have other diseases related to neuromuscular. Besides, many other cases of scoliosis due to sitting in the wrong posture for a long time.

Doctor Son likens the spine of a child to a young tree, still growing when it is bent and crooked until it becomes an adult. Severe scoliosis makes the organs may not develop, for example, there are not enough alveoli in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe, then affecting the heart, digestive system, circulation, compressing the liver, spleen…

Therefore, Dr. Son advised relatives to closely monitor the child and detect scoliosis as soon as possible. Families can observe unusual signs when the child is sitting at school or taking a bath, such as low shoulders, high shoulders, protruding back when bending over… When treated in time, children soon regain their confidence. , the body develops in balance to continue learning and living.

Viet Duc Friendship Hospital held a free examination and consultation on scoliosis on June 4. Families who are worried that their children have scoliosis should take them to the doctor to detect the disease in time.

Chile